Icemaker with improved ice storage receptacle



June 1970 G. F. DODGE up ETAL 3,51

ICEMAKER WITH IMPROVED ICE STORAGE RECEPTACLE Filed Feb. 10, 1969 INVENTORS GERALD Ft noose; m

THEIR. ATT R Y & HOWARD D.FI TRUE m.

United States Patent 3,514,964 ICEMAKER WITH IMPROVED ICE STORAGE RECEPTACLE Gerald F. Dodge III, Louisville, and Howard D. F. True,

Jr., Fern Creek, Ky., assiguors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 10, 1969, Ser. No. 797,945 Int. Cl. F25c /18 US. Cl. 62-137 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A household refrigerator containing an automatic ice service including an automatic icemaker having an ice level sensing member for sensing a predetermined level of ice and improved ice storage receptacle operatively associated with the sensing member and designed to provide usage of stored ice pieces in the order in which they are manufactured by the icemaker.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many modern refrigerators include automatic icemakers for the production of ice pieces. These icemakers manufacture the ice pieces in batches of, for example, from 3 to ice pieces per batch. The batches are periodically discharged into a storage receptacle and the automatic operation of the icemaker is terminated when a predetermined level of ice in the storage receptacle is sensed by the sensing means. Usually the receptacle has a storage capacity substantially exceeding that required to meet the users daily consumption with the result thatsince the ice pieces are discharged into the storage receptacle from the top and also removed from the top, older ice pieces may remain in the bottom of the storage receptacle for substantial periods of time. These older ice pieces tend to decay" due to sublimation and also tend to collect or absorb odors with the result that they are not particularly usable when-finally required by the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a. household refrigerator automatic ice service including an automatic icemaker, an improved storage receptacle for receiving the product of the icemaker and sensing means for terminating the operation of the icemaker when the ice accumulated in the receptacle has reached a predetermined level. The improved receptacle is designed to prevent or substantially prevent the accumulation therein of old ice pieces. More specifically it is designed to provide for the removal of ice pieces from the receptacle in substantially the same order they were produced by the icemaker. To this end, the receptacle includes a vertically extending partition dividing it into a storage section for receiving and storing ice pieces produced by the icemaker and a dispensing section from which ice pieces can be manually removed from the receptacle. The lower portion of the partition is spaced from the bottom wall of the receptacle to define a passage permitting the gravity flow of stored ice pieces from the bottom portion of the storage section to the dispensing section upon removal of ice pieces from the dispensing section. Thus the ice pieces removed from the receptacle are the older ice pieces while the fresh ice pieces produced by the icemaker are introduced into the upper portion of the receptacle storage section.

erator cabinet incorporating an embodiment of the present invention; and

3,514,964 Patented June 2, 1970 FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the storage receptacle of the present invention taken generally along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to the accompanying drawing, there is illustrated a household refrigerator comprising a freezer compartment 1 having an access opening 2 at the front thereof closed by a door (not shown). Within the upper portion of the freezer compartment there is mounted an automatic icemaker 3 which may be of any of the well known types presently provided in household refrigerators for the automatic production of ice pieces for storage in a receptacle positioned below or adjacent the icemaker and which includes a sensing means or member for interrupting the automatic operation of the icemaker when the ice in the receptacle reaches the predetermined level relative to the sensing means. In the somewhat schematically illustrated icemaker, this sensing means comprises a feeler arm 4 which is periodically reciprocated by the icemaker operating mechanism from a lower position extending into the top of the receptacle to an elevated position above the receptacle and back to its lower position. The control means associated with or operated by the feeler arm 4 is designed to stop the icemaker when the amount of ice in the receptacle prevents the arm from returning to its lower position. For more detailed description of an icemaker including such a feeler arm, reference is made to Pat. 3,331,215-Shaw.

An icemaker of this type normally includes means for automatically filling a plurality of mold cavities with water, and periodically discharging the ice pieces formed in the cavities into the storage receptacle. In the illustrated icemaker 3, ice pieces are discharged from a plurality of cavities 6 of the ice mold 7, into the receptacle 8 which is positioned below the icemaker for the purpose of receiving the discharged ice pieces. The operation of the icemaker continues until the sensing arm 4 senses that the ice in the receptacle 8 has reached a predetermined maximum level.

With the usual storage receptacle having a single opening at the top through which ice pieces are both introduced into the receptacle and removed therefrom, the newest ice pieces which are on top of the accumulated ice are of course the first to be removed from the receptacle. As a result the older ice pieces may remain unused in the bottom of a receptacle for long periods of time.

The receptacle in the present invention is designed to avoid this situation.

The receptacle 8 of the present invention, as illustrated in the drawing, may be described as including a vertically extending partition 10 dividing the receptacle into a main and relatively large storage section 11 and a relatively small dispensing section 12. The receptacle 8 is supported within the freezer compartment 1 below the icemaker 3 so that ice pieces discharged from the icemaker drop into the storage section 11 and the discharge dispensing section 12 forms the front of the deceptacle to provide easy access to the ice pieces stored therein.

The total storage volume of the receptacle is primarily determined by the height of the walls thereof including the partition 10 defining the storage section 11. The partition 10 is spaced from the bottom wall 14 of the receptacle so that the space between the lower edge 15 of the partition 10 and the bottom wall 14 forms a channel or passage 15 through which ice pieces can pass from the storage section 11 to the dispensing section 12.

As ice pieces are initially discharged into the storage section 11, they will tend to distribute themselves over the bottom wall 14 with the result that some of them will pass through the passage 16 into the dispensing section 12. When the level of the accumulated ice reaches v the bottom edge 15 of the partition 10, the flow of ice pieces beneath the partition will tend to stop and the remaining ice will pile up within the storage section 11 to a level thereof at which the sensing arm 4 stops the operation of the icemaker.

When the user desires ice, the ice is removed through the open top 17 of the dispensing section 12. As the level of the ice Within the dispensing section 12 is lowered, additional ice pieces will pass beneaththe partition 10 into the dispensing section. The pieces will be the older ice pieces from the bottom portion of the storage section 11 rather than the newer or uppermost ice pieces. As a result the ice pieces removed from the dispensing will generally be the oldestice pieces while the fresh ice pieces introduced into the storage section 11 collect on top of the older ice pieces.

Preferably the top edges of the side walls of the dispensing section 12 and the front wall 19 are at approximately the same elevation or height as the lower edge 15 of the partition 10. This construction prevents spillage of ice from the section 12 if the receptacle jarred or juggled as it is removed from the compartment 2 and still permit easy access to the dispensing section. Thus, when the receptacle is positioned in the freezer compartment 1 with the dispensing section adjacent the access opening to this compartment, the ice pieces in the relatively shallow dispensing section are in view of the user and much more accessible than are the ice pieces in the usual receptacle in which all of the wall portions are relatively high with their upper edges above the level of the feeler arm 4 in its normal position.

Preferably also the partition 10 is sloped slightly rearwardly as illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawing, that is its lower edge 15 is rearward of its top edge 20, and the rear portion 21 of the bottom wall 14 of the receptacle forming the bottom portion of the storage section 11 slants forwardly to assure the desired flow of the older ice pieces through the channel or passage 16. Thus the rearwardly sloping partition 10 and the forwardly sloping bottom wall portion 21 provide a funnel like structure for progressively'funneling ice pieces to the passage 16 substantially in the order in which they were introduced into the storage section 11. This rearward sloping of partition- 10 also provides a larger opening to the dispensing section.

A further advantage of this receptacle structure in which the opening 17 to the dispensing section is at a lower level than the top of thestorage section and'at approximately the same height as the lower edge of the partition 15 is that this configuration provides a natural circulation of freezer compartment air through the ice 5 bucket which hastheadvant ages of eliminating or preventing frost build-up on the ice pieces and of preventing the'ice pieces from sticking together.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A refrigerator including a freezer compartment containing an automatic icemaker and a receptacle for storing ice pieces produced by said icemaker, said icemaker including a sensing member for de-energizing said icemaker at.a predetermined level of ice in said receptacle;

said receptacle including a vertically extending partition dividing said receptacle into a rear storage section for receiving and storing ice pieces produced by said icemaker and a front dispensing section having an open top through which ice pieces can be manually removed from said dispensing section;

, a lower edge portion of said'partition being spaced from the bottom wall of said receptacle to define a passage permitting the gravity flow of stored ice pieces from the lower portion of said storage section to said dispensing section upon removal of ice pieces from said dispensing section;

the top of said dispensing section being below the top of said storage section; and

means for supporting said storage section relative to said sensing means whereby said icemaker is deenergized when the ice in said storage section reaches said predetermined level.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1 in which the top of said dispensing'section is at about the same level as the lower edge portion of said partion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,484,017 10/1949 Copeman 62-344 2,986,897 6/1961 Howard 62l37 3,276,224 10/1966 Lunde 62-344 WILLIAM E. WAYNER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 62344; 221-14 

